Living In The Cone Part VIII: Head-Butting Ike

Here He Comes; Scheduled to pass about 30 miles east of San Antonio Saturday Morning with 150 mph winds.

Texas Begins Evacuating as Hurricane Ike Emerges Into Gulf
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

McALLEN, Texas — Some Texas residents who have special medical needs in the Corpus Christi area were being told to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Ike as it steams into the Gulf of Mexico.

To help these residents who need to get out of harm's way, Nueces County expected to set up two intake areas on Wednesday at 10 a.m. to take residents by bus to San Antonio. Meanwhile, Lt. Rhonda Lawson with the Texas Department of Public Safety in Corpus Christi said plans were in place to open up the evacuation route on Interstate 37 beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Texas emergency officials were taking no chances with the lives of its medically fragile citizens. Forecasters said Ike could hit on Saturday morning just about anywhere along the Texas coast, with the most likely spot close to the Corpus Christi area.

"For people designated as special medical needs who have a health condition that will require them to be out of harm's way ... we will assist them in boarding state furnished transportation and we'll assist them in getting to San Antonio," said Nueces County Judge Loyd Neal. He said the order is a voluntary evacuation. County officials have not ordered a full evacuation as they await updates on Hurricane Ike.
The American Red Cross, San Antonio chapter, said in a statement that its mobile and fixed feeding trucks were being moved into place to help evacuees. Opening up I-37 should facilitate smoother traffic flow, Lawson said.

"It gives people an extra lane of travel and it starts in Corpus Christi and it goes through San Antonio. Normally you have two lanes of travel going northbound and this gives a third lane of travel. Our troopers will be out monitoring the flow traffic to make sure no one breaks down," said Lawson.

Along with state troopers, more than 35 Corpus Christi police officers will help guide traffic along I-37, said Police Chief Bryan Smith in Wednesday's edition of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

Texas officials were encouraging residents in the path of Hurricane Ike to do three things — listen to what local officials say, monitor weather reports and gas up, now.

"We have a fuel team that is part of the state operation system in Austin," said Allison Castle, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry. "They are helping to push fuel to hurricane areas. One of the lessons we learned from past hurricanes is we need to have fuel ready," she said. Castle said the fuel team was working with a "private fuel partner" to ensure adequate fuel would be available along hurricane affected areas.

Still, Castle said if local officials order an evacuation, "the number one thing for residents is make sure they have a full tank of gas and prescriptions."

As Hurricane Ike heads toward the state, Texas emergency officials were preparing to order 1 million people be evacuated from the impoverished Rio Grande Valley. Emergency planning officials were meeting all day Tuesday to decide if and when to announce a mandatory evacuation for coastal counties close to the Mexican border.

Authorities lined up nearly 1,000 buses in case they are needed to move out the many poor and elderly people who have no cars.

"We have sent a number of them (buses) to Bee County, that way, should the locals decide to evacuate we will be ready to assist," Castle said.

On Tuesday, Ike roared across Cuba, ravaging homes, killing at least four people and forcing 1.2 million to evacuate.

Early Wednesday, Ike had maximum sustained winds near 85 mph, but was expected to strengthen. The storm was centered about 125 miles north of Cuba's western tip and moving west-northwest near 8 mph.
Perry declared 88 coastal counties disaster areas Monday to start the flow of state aid, and began preparing for an evacuation, lining up "buses rather than body bags."

The Dallas-Fort Worth area sheltered about 3,000 Hurricane Gustav evacuees last week and is prepared for up to about 20,000 people this time, said Steve Griggs, a county official. The downtown convention center would again serve as the main shelter.

Yes, yes -- I'm going to buy water. I'm also signed up already at one of the shelters.

Posting may be sporadic over the weekend. There's no guarantee of electricity in 135mph winds.

~JD~

Minor CAT-tastrophe in Progress

Literally.

My cats, in the heat of passion as they chased each other at breakneck speed around the apartment, knocked my laptop to the floor and demolished the hard drive. I'll be engaged in the process of trying to recover the files today and tomorrow. And possibly to break the necks of the breakneck speeding cats. Possibly. (Probably not; they're my kittens.)

Posting may suffer slightly. I'll try not to let it comletel stop, but hang with me a day or two, and all will be back to pseudo-normal.

~~JD~~

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part VI); September Landfall

The federal government has really taken the bull by the horns in these Gustav preparations. Stung by criticism that "Bush doesn't Care" and theat "the federal government didn't do enough" to prepare for Katrina (and most of these allegations made by the same idiots who had "hurricane parties" in their homes, then cried for federal aid) -- the Bush Administration has given Homeland Security and FEMA a much freer hand in making sure Katrina is not repeated again.

The result of this "freer hand" policy is that people are not being "suggested" to leave -- they're being told to do so. Hospitals are being required to stockpile several weeks of supplies and evacuate all patients possible before the storm hits.

And FEMA is not taking "no" for an answer. Be carefuls what you wish for -- you might end up getting it. From CNN.com:

Hospitals use lessons from Katrina to prep for Gustav

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CNN) -- Three years after Hurricane Katrina taught New Orleans' medical community some painful lessons, hospitals here are trying to learn from past mistakes.

Only the sickest patients will remain at New Orleans' Tulane Medical Center after ambulances carry the rest to the airport. Evacuations began early Sunday as a long line of ambulances took patients to the airport. From there, they were flown to hospitals outside the zone threatened by Gustav.

During Katrina, 1,600 people sheltered at the Tulane hospital. This time, only 450 patients, staff and family members are expected to remain. Patients are allowed one family member to stay with them.

"The lesson learned last time is, don't have lot of patients in your hospital unless it is absolutely necessary, and don't have too many staff," said Bob Lynch, the hospital's CEO. "A lot of planning, a lot of coordination has gone into the preparation for hurricanes after Katrina," Lynch said. "People really understand the need for being prepared down here." Lynch says his hospital prepared by bringing in a lot of supplies.

During Katrina, generators at some New Orleans hospitals were flooded after levees broke. Many hospitals didn't have enough fuel to run for more than a few days. Lynch said his downtown facility now has a generator system robust enough to power the entire building for three weeks, including the air conditioning. The generators are protected with a flood wall and a sump pump to remove any water that seeps in.

In 50 years, New Orleans Children's Hospital has locked its doors only once -- during Katrina. This time, the hospital plans to stay open regardless of what happens. Like Tulane, Children's has stockpiled three weeks' worth of supplies, food and fuel.

Eighty patients remain at New Orleans Children's Hospital, more than half of them in a critical care unit. Nurse Crystal Mayeaux says she will not leave them. "We are attached to all the babies here, she says. "They know us." Parents are allowed to stay with their children.

Tracy Bayley can't bear to tell her 4-year-old son Cameron about the hurricane that's on the way. The boy had open-heart surgery just 10 days ago.

"He knows there is a little storm coming, but as long as I am here, he's happy," she said.

And as I noted previously, they all appear to be flying to San Antonio. Lots of overtime for me!

~~JD~~

One Year Ago Today; Just About Now . . . .

If you don't have any idea what I'm referring to, you can read about it HERE.

Yes, that's me in the hat.

Good night, Dad.

~~JD~~

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part VI): September is the Disastrous Month

By 5:oo pm Saturday the aircraft had started to arrive in San Antonio. The skies were alight with Medevac helicopters shuttling patients from the airport to hospitals all over the San Antonio area all night and all morning.



FEMA had learned her lessons well from Katrina. Plans had been laid well in advance for possible hurricane strike areas and how to evacuate them prior to landfall of any hurricane. When Hurricane Gustav first began to look like he would make landfall in the Gulf Coast, FEMA had already activated National Guard Units and Federalized aircraft under the Civilian Air Board to transport hospital patients from threatened areas to designated evacuation zones.



San Antonio is the Evacuation zone for Beaumont and Victoria, Texas. (An Air Force C-9 Nightingale medical evacuation plane flew overhead as I wrote that. It was followed by a C-130 cargo plane.)



By 7:00 pm last night three fully-loaded medical transport planes had arrived in San Antonio, evacuating Nursing Home residents and hospital patients. By 9:00 pm most of the Emergency Rooms in San Antonio were closed to admissions from the onslaught of admissions. At 11:00 pm my own hospital began to plan to block off the street in front of the hospital to put a a massive circus-sized tent to triage the evacuees expected for Sunday and Monday.



By 1:00 am almost all of the ER's in San Antonio were closed to new admissions. By 2:00 am FEMA had politely informed them that they were open for business, and to get to work. I admitted people to my little Med-Surg unit all night long until we were packed to the gills.



At 5:00 am Sunday (today) they began the "contra-flow" operations on select Interstate highways leading away from the coast. During Hurricane Katrina this meant that I-10 flowed two sides both pointing towards San Antonio from New Orleans all the way back here. I don't know if that means the same this time, but I doubt it. During Katrina it was more reactionary response, while Gustav's FEMA plan is carefully considered.



But there's a lot of damned cars on the road -- and they're not looking for a Labor Day cookout.



By noon Saturday even Mayor Ray "Chocolate City" Nagin of new Orleans had caught the FEMA fever, and ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city. Buses that had stood silent during Katrina were fueled and ready to move everyone and anyone out of the city, along with their family, friends, and pets. I watched the Homeland Security director Micheal Chertoff on Fox News last night lay out a very clear, thin line: Areas under mandatory evacuation are also as of now under curfew. Once the storm winds come up, there is no further possibility of evacuation.

And time is running out -- fast. Get out, and Get out Now.



Hotels are filling up fast in San Antone. Our church this morning had an almost overflow crowd -- easily twice the crowd from the last time we attended. The worshipers seemed happy to be there, and there was a lot of "Nice to Meet You!" greeting going on, but there was a distinct unease in the air. It was the unease of uncertainty of the future, and the hope of better days to come; but mixed in was a double shot of pragmatism from Katrina's fury.


It's an eerie feeling to know that those electronic highway signs advertising "Hurricane Shelter Directions" are talking to YOU.


The foreboding is not limited to the evacuees. Edouard's grand tour of Florida had the unexpected side effect of temporarily reversing the normally clockwise Gulf weather patterns, showering South Texas with a bounty of rain the last 10 days. The ground currently is almost saturated. Gustav could make that much, much worse very, very quickly.


I watched the thunderheads march northward towards Austin and Dallas last night, silhouetted by the dying setting sun. Their dark purple bases made them look almost royal, and dignified. None dared challenge their power, or right to do as they please to us mere mortals. Their pink tops caught the last light of the sunset, making them look like curious giraffes, peering towards the north.


Right now they scare the hell out of me, pretty or not.

~~JD~~

Saturday Morning Gustav Sunrise

The cloudless skies of South Texas start to cloud up. . . .

~~JD~~

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part V); Katrina is the Worst Possibility

(Sigh) . . . . It's Hurricane season in the Gulf, again. I may have mentioned this before, so if I have, bear with me. I once read somewhere that German U-boat commanders avoided the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea areas in World War II, despite the obvious strategic value of hitting the unprotected southern coast, was because the hurricane seasons were so violent in the late 30's and early 40's that U-boat skippers were terrified of surfacing in a hurricane and killing everyone aboard.

Looks like we're getting back into one of those violent cycles again.

Hurricane Gustav has had his way re-destroying the islands of Jamaica and Haiti that were previously destroyed earlier this season and last year, and the year beofre; but since they don't believe in building codes or governmental disaster assistance, the poverty-stricken residents are left to their own devices to try to rebuild their shattered lives. Again.

Fortunately for us, we have a lot more planning in place, and care what happens to our people, as evidenced by San Antonio's KSAT:

Perry Issues Disaster Declaration For Gustav
5,000 Guardsmen On Standby
UPDATED: 2:10 pm CDT August 28, 2008

BEAUMONT, Texas -- Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration on Thursday for 61 counties as Texas prepares for a possible brush with Tropical Storm Gustav. Perry said that more than 5,000 guardsmen and other state resources are on standby in case the storm comes ashore along the Texas Coast.

Forecasters said that Gustav, which has winds approaching hurricane force, could make landfall Tuesday anywhere from Texas to the Florida Panhandle.

In Beaumont, some residents were already preparing by filling up their tanks and stocking their pantries. In Tyler, tourism officials say that most of the 2,200 hotel rooms in the East Texas city are full as Gulf Coast residents make plans to head north.

And then this popped up in my e-mail today (since I'm a nurse and a orevious Katrina volunteer, I get them first):

A N G E L V O L U N T E E R S N E E D E D

We are seeking Volunteers for San Antonio based shelters. Please contact us immediately to add you to our list in order to assist others seeking relief from Hurricane Gustav.

* * * * * *
If the State of Texas should declare this to be a Natural Disaster, we will be searching and reimbursing for assistance to deploy for approximately 7 days. We will provide you with a list of necessities you will be required to bring. All accomodations will be provided. If deployment is necessary we will be expected to depart Saturday.

Further details will follow as information becomes available.

* * * * * *

Please call our office Angel Staffing, Inc - 210-616-9526

or

Contact Shannon at shannon@angelstaffing.net 210-854-7656
or Jennifer at jennifer@angelstaffing.net 210-854-8928.

Together we can make a difference!

This one is more than a little scary. We've had rain on-and-off for two weeks which is more a winter weather pattern than a summer one. As such, the ground is close to saturated already, and Hurricane Edouard's corkscrew path up and around Florida has reversed the normal clockwise weather pattern flow around the gulf coast, which will draw Gustav towards Texas like a magnet draws a compass needle.

I'm going to buy a couple of cases of water right now.

~~JD~~

Another Reason Washington DC is Not Like The Rest Of The World

Actual road sign from Washington DC:


It's 3:59 pm; do you know what lane you're in?

~~JD~~

Wednesday Morning San Antonio Health Clinic

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part IV); August is the Speediest Month

Eduoard made landfall about 4 hours earlier than estimated and as only a Tropical Storm instead of getting to hurricane status (thank goodness!); and despite the meteorological projection tracks that keep taking it towards Austin and the north Texas area, it seems determined to make a beeline towards San Antonio. I'm sure it will turn at some point eventually.


Meanwhile, I'm out buying water and flashlights later this morning.


Just in case, you understand. It would be silly to wait for lines to form like last time.

Meanwhile, it seems that a tornado hit Chicago last night; if not a good handful of microbursts. From CBS 2 Chicago:

Tornadic Storm Clears Wrigley Field, Brings Havoc

CHICAGO (CBS) ― A powerful storm led to tornado warnings in downtown Chicago, evacuated fans from the stands at Wrigley Field on Monday night, and left a path of damage and an atmosphere of panic. Storms continued throughout the night, and were not over Tuesday morning.

The skies were dark and treacherous for much of the game between the Cubs and the Houston Astros. The telecast of the game was interrupted for an Emergency Alert System broadcast announcing a tornado warning for areas west of Chicago. Soon afterward, rain interrupted the game.

As CBS 2's Mike Parker reports, at about 8:10 p.m., winds that seemed near gale force began raking the area and the air raid siren that stands sentinel outside Wrigley Field began howling, along with all the others in the city. A voice over the public address system ordered everyone to move into the stadium concourse.

"They told you to get out, down to the concourse, because of bad weather," said Ron Swanson. "A lot of games out here and I've never heard that before; I've never heard that boomer go out across the street." Several small children and more than a few adults were terrified.

The National Weather Service did not immediately confirm any tornado touchdowns. But it said trained spotters reported high-rotation winds in DeKalb and Kane counties in northeastern Illinois, where widespread tree and power line damage was reported. Winds clocked in at 70 mph.

Passengers at O'Hare International Airport were evacuated into the lower levels of the complex's buildings. All flights were temporarily halted, and travelers who had already boarded airplanes were taken off as the storm struck, then led to the lower levels as a precaution. "It was pretty cramped down there, the whole terminal was down there," said George Wickens, 50, of London, who was trying to travel to Florida with his family. "I don't think anything will be getting out of Chicago tonight." More than 350 flights were canceled at O'Hare Monday.

Planes were flying again Tuesday morning. One hundred flights were canceled at O'Hare, and minor delays were reported as of 11 a.m. At Midway Tuesday morning there were a few one-hour delays and some cancellations, according to Cunningham.

"The wind picked up and in probably five seconds it blew (my friend) into her husband," she said. "He grabbed her and pulled her inside and we all ran down the stairs. It was like dead still and then within five seconds, ten seconds we were all blown away."

"The lightning between the buildings was looking ominous," said Michaela Nelson, a 58-year-old singer from Barrington, brushing her dripping-wet hair at the station. "And then it just poured."

As of 10:30 a.m., 219,000 Commonwealth Edison customers are without electricity, the majority of whom are in the city and the southern suburbs, according to ComEd spokesman Jeff Burdick. A total of about 427,000 customers were affected since the storms started. The outages will likely take days to fix, Marquez said.

"At this point, we're still saying it's a multiple-day restoration. We're asking a lot of our customers to be patient as we work on clearing all the damage and restoring power," Marquez said. "We'll get a better idea as work goes throughout the day on the extent of damage, and then have a better idea on when the last customer will be restored."

In the Logan Square neighborhood, a man was left in critical condition after he was hit by a falling tree. He was near his home in the 2100 block of North Whipple Street when the tornado warning sirens sounded. High winds and lightning moved in and sent a tree crashing on top of him. On the Northwest Side, a huge tree was uprooted and tore up the sidewalk on top of the roots. The homeowner could not believe what happened, and suspected a tornado might have hit.

A total of 1,438 trees were toppled or damaged in the storm throughout the city. A total of 158 traffic signals were knocked out, 69 city light poles were damaged, and 112 wires to city light poles snapped, according to the city Department of Streets and Sanitation. There were also 212 blocks where all of the street lights were out, according to the department.

On the roadways at 1 a.m., a backed up sewer added to the problems on the inbound and outbound Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/94) between 83rd and 87th Streets on the South Side, according to Illinois State Police District Chicago Sgt. Michelle Tufenkjian.

Well, the good thing about hurricanes is at least we get a little warning.

Water. Flashlights. Gotta go.

~~JD~~

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part IV); August is the Ugliest Month

Eduoardo is on the way.

This one popped up during the day Sunday while I was sleeping off night shift at the hospital. When I went to bed, nothing -- but when ai woke up, full fledged Tropical Storm with winds approaching 30 mph. Today it's 45 mph sustained winds and headed straight for Houston Bay (and Galveston, which is an island, I might add) and thereafter cutting a swath between Austin to the north and San Antone to the south.

In other words, the closest any hurricane has come to us since we moved here six years ago.

I'm going out to buy bottled water and flashlights tonight.

~~JD~~

San Antonio Sunset, 97 degrees

Testing the new camera, part II.

~~JD~~

Wednesday Morning Overcast San Antonio

Testing out the new camera.

~~JD~~

Curseo of the Joker Part III: When jokers become Jokers

Just to Prove my theory that "There's no such thing as a Criminal Genius", here comes proof from the Associated Press, via the Northwest Indiana Vidette-Times:

Holy hooligans! Phony 'Joker' arrested in Michigan
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

THREE RIVERS, Mich. - Police in Michigan have arrested a man who they say tried to steal posters and other items related to the new Batman movie from a cinema lobby while dressed up as the Joker.

Detective Mike Mohney said Monday 20-year-old Spencer Taylor of Three Rivers has been booked for investigation of larceny and malicious destruction of property.

Taylor is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 5 in St. Joseph County District Court.

There is no telephone listing under his name in the Three Rivers area.

Mohney says officers who were dispatched early Sunday to the theater arrived to find employees restraining a man wearing a purple suit, a green wig and face paint in the style of Batman's nemesis in "The Dark Knight."

Heh.

~~JD~~

Be Still, My Soul

Just feeling it was necessary to post this today. Happy Sunday.

Be Still, My Soul

Words: Katharina von Schlegel, 1752. Music: Jean Sibelius, 1899.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise
On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;
Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,
So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.
Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine
Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine.

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part III); July is the Ugliest Month

Busy week around South Texas.

Dolly hit Category 2 just before she came ashore around Padre island, and just as the warmest part of the day was really ramping up. As a result, she cartwheeled from a low-grade Category 1 right up to a strengthening Category 2 very quickly -- so quickly, in fact, that the storm continued to strengthen briefly even after it was mostly ashore.


Even last night Dolly continued to maintain it's rotational momentum and spiral off lots of dense, dangerous thunderstorms, like the ones that hit San Antonio Thursday. A tornado breifly touched down on the near south side of San Antonio. Damage was limited to a few square blocks near the Patrician Movement Detox Center I used to work at a few years ago. Tornados are an oddity in South Texas; they mainly strike in north and east Texas and farther north, so this was quite a news event for San Antonio.

The gulf coast fared far worse, as these photos from an e-mail from an acquaintance show. Damage was much worse than expected, with one wag commenting :If this was a Category 1, then I never want to see a Category 2 or a Category 3!" Fishing and tourism will suffer the most, although major damage seems suprisingly light. The causeway to South Padre Island never closed except at the ehight of the storm, and re-opened immediatley afterwards. While many area of the Rio Grande valley remain without power, almost everyone has either water service or access to fresh water.


There are no reports of the damage to Mexico where the storm has burrowed deep into the Sonorran desert. Much like the old Soviet Union, the current Mexican administration is loathe to describe just how ineffective and powerless it is to provide relief to it's own beleaguered people.


Nevertheless, the people of Mexico continue to suffer from the inactivity of it's own government while America (and Americans) are busily involved in relief operations on both sides of the border.

So, we've been busy. how was your week? Obama been acclaimed king yet?

~~JD~~

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part II); July is also the Wettest Month

Well, Dolly has come ashore, and as I expected, she hit just north of the Texas-Mexico border. She actually struck South Padre Island, then turned north for a bit, sideswiping the island full-force for a few hours before actually coming ashore on Padre Island to the north. Expect some severe damage to the tourist locales of South Padre.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see parts of either island disappear into the sea entirely.

The feeder bands of rain started hitting San Antone about 2pm. Right now it's a solid steel-grey sky with high humidity. The feeder bands are weird experiences to this midwestern-raised farm boy -- not at alllike the great majestic thunderstorms of the plains that lumber through majestically. The feeder bands rumble past, suddenly dropping huge drops of rain that hit with the force of golf balls. The cats and dog ran into the kitchen for shelter from the noise, which lasts all of five minutes, then stops as suddenly as it started.

Then we wait an hour or so for it to start again -- which I think it just did as I'm writing this. In the graphic accompanying this post, that upper-left corner of the tornado watch box is me in San Antonio. Lucky Me.

The storm is breaking down rapidly as it moves inland. Should it follow I-37 north from Corpus, the mass of rain will hit tonight and thoroughly soak our drought-striken pastures.

Which would be good. At any rate the agricultural Rio Grande valley, which rivals Florida and Southern California for it's produce and citrus, will get a ton of much-needed rain.

That's good too.

~~JD~~

Living in the Cone 2008 (Part I); July is the Windiest Month

Hurricane Season 2008 looks to be ramping up fast. Hurricane Dolly is the third "named" storm of the year, and it's only July. (Usually the season doesn't really get going good until August sometime.) So we're already geting the storm warnings and Weather Updates, and bottled water prices are slowly climbing upwards again. We're getting the highway warning signs as well, which are lots of fun to read on the way to work.



As of tonight the projections appear to place Dolly hitting somewhere near the Texas-Mexican border, and most weather-people projecting it will hit just the other side of the border. My guess is that this thing will go to ground on the Texas side of the border as the storm heads more northerly tonight (the winds skew north after sunset and blow north-northwest inland all night. When these inland night winds start blowing tonight, Dolly may well follow.) I'm betting somewhere between Corpus Christi and Victoria (more toward Corpus.)

I noticed on the way home that the usually coludless blue south Texas sky was full of big honkin' cumulonimbus clouds laden with storm water, as the first feeder bands from Dolly agitate the upper atmosphere into action.


Good. We needed the rain.


Meanwhile, Governor Perry has already alerted the National Guard, and every nurse and physician in South Texas has received this e-mail yesterday:

As Tropical Storm Dolly threatens to grow as a Hurricane towards to the Texas border we are encouraging our Nurses and CNA's to call our office and offer your assistance to help others. Additional deployment information will be available within the next 24-48hrs depending on weather.

All Angels will be compensated for their time and efforts at the following rates:

RN's $40/hr
LVN's $30/hr
CNA's $15/hr

Transportation and meals will be provided as well as hotel accommodations. All Angels will be required to bring the following for their personal use:

Sleeping Bag/Pillow
Towel/Soap
Weather appropriate clothing and comfortable footwear
Hat/Cap
Non perishable food/snacks
Drinking Water
Hand Sanitizer
Kleenex
Toilet Tissue
Sunscreen
Sunglasses
Medications
Prescribed Eyeglasses/Hearing Aids

Please Contact:

Debbie or Ann Marie
210-616-9526

We truly look forward to helping others, together we can make a difference!

And this follow-up today:

Thank you to all the Angels who have responded in this time of need!

We have been informed that possible Deployment will occur Friday from the AT&T Center in San Antonio. More information will follow as it becomes available.

As Hurricane Season approaches we kindly remind you that even if there is no deloyment this time there may be some in the furture. Please look for updates from Angel Staffing as events occur. Please contact Debbie or Ann Marie at 210-616-9526 in order to be added to our list.

Gotta go buy bottled water . . . . and fill up my gas tank.

~~JD~~

You May Have Noticed I've Been Posting Less Lately . . . .

Well, just a Bit less, anyway . . . .

Welcome to the Nursing Shortage 2008. Here in beautiful South Texas the economy is thriving and the housing market continues to boom. It's no small coincidence that we have one of the lowest tax rates in the country -- hell, no state income tax at all. So jobs are abundant and plentiful. Texas employers are recruiting all through the Katrina impact zone for construction workers for South Texas. Some road work has even been delayed due to a shortage of trained construction workers.

San Antonio alone has a ridiculous number of hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes, and skilled nursing facilities. Just by working Temp Agencies like NursFinders a nurse with a modicum of skills can work until they drop. This week alone I've worked 36 hours at a downtown hospital (night shift); then this morning I turned around and started 3-ten hour shifts at my Dialysis Clinic. Then this Saturday I'll work 2 back-to-back shifts at the Hospital.

To pull off this small trick I have to work two of the days this week around the clock. Like today -- I got off the hospital job working all night, then worked all day at the clinic.

I'll do this again Saturday, in reverse order. So if I only post once a dy instead of three times, you know why.

By the way, if you know a teen-ager looking for a career, recommend Nursing.

Please.

~~JD~~

"Bozo" Larry Harmon Passes Away at 83

Presented with great solemnity, from CNN.com:

Bozo actor dead at 83

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83.
Although not the original Bozo, Larry Harmon portrayed the popular frizzy-haired clown in countless appearances.

His publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press he died at his home.

Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos. "You might say, in a way, I was cloning BTC (Bozo the Clown) before anybody else out there got around to cloning DNA," Harmon told the AP in a 1996 interview.

"Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon said.

Pinto Colvig, who also provided the voice for Walt Disney's Goofy, originated Bozo the Clown when Capitol Records introduced a series of children's records in 1946. Harmon would later meet his alter ego while answering a casting call to make personal appearances as a clown to promote the records.

He got that job and eventually bought the rights to Bozo. Along the way, he embellished Bozo's distinctive look: the orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, the outlandish red, white and blue costume.

"I felt if I could plant my size 83AAA shoes on this planet, (people) would never be able to forget those footprints," he said.

Susan Harmon, his wife of 29 years, indicated Harmon was the perfect fit for Bozo. "He was the most optimistic man I ever met. He always saw a bright side; he always had something good to say about everybody. He was the love of my life," she said Thursday.

The business -- combining animation, licensing of the character, and personal appearances -- made millions, as Harmon trained more than 200 Bozos over the years to represent him in local markets. "I'm looking for that sparkle in the eyes, that emotion, feeling, directness, warmth. That is so important," he said of his criteria for becoming a Bozo.

The Chicago version of Bozo ran on WGN-TV in Chicago for 40 years and was seen in many other cities after cable television transformed WGN into a superstation. Bozo -- portrayed in Chicago for many years by Bob Bell -- was so popular that the waiting list for tickets to a TV show eventually stretched to a decade, prompting the station to stop taking reservations for 10 years. On the day in 1990 when WGN started taking reservations again, it took just five hours to book the show for five more years. The phone company reported more than 27 million phone call attempts had been made. By the time the show bowed out in Chicago, in 2001, it was the last locally produced version. Harmon said at the time that he hoped to develop a new cable or network show, as well as a Bozo feature film.

He became caught up in a minor controversy in 2004 when the International Clown Hall of Fame in Milwaukee took down a plaque honoring him as Bozo and formally endorsed Colvig for creating the role. Harmon denied ever misrepresenting Bozo's history. He said he was claiming credit only for what he added to the character -- "What I sound like, what I look like, what I walk like" -- and what he did to popularize Bozo. "Isn't it a shame the credit that was given to me for the work I have done, they arbitrarily take it down, like I didn't do anything for the last 52 years," he told the AP at the time.

Harmon protected Bozo's reputation with a vengeance, while embracing those who poked good-natured fun at the clown. As Bozo's influence spread through popular culture, his very name became a synonym for clownish behavior. "It takes a lot of effort and energy to keep a character that old fresh so kids today still know about him and want to buy the products," Karen Raugust, executive editor of The Licensing Letter, a New York-based trade publication, said in 1996. A normal character runs its course in three to five years, Raugust said. "Harmon's is a classic character. It's been around 50 years."

On New Year's Day 1996, Harmon dressed up as Bozo for the first time in 10 years, appearing in the Rose Parade in Pasadena. The crowd reaction, he recalled, "was deafening." "They kept yelling, `Bozo, Bozo, love you, love you.' I shed more crocodile tears for five miles in four hours than I realized I had," he said. "I still get goose bumps."

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Harmon became interested in theater while studying at the University of Southern California. "Bozo is a star, an entertainer, bigger than life," Harmon once said. "People see him as Mr. Bozo, somebody you can relate to, touch and laugh with."

Besides his wife, Harmon is survived by his son, Jeff Harmon, and daughters Lori Harmon, Marci Breth-Carabet and Leslie Breth.

~~JD~~